


SLIT Isn't Even A Color

by psychicrebelart



Category: RWBY
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M, but not the focus of the story, just here to have fun, kinda slice of life, lots of sass and bickering, more canon characters might appear, slight AU, some romantic elements
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-12
Updated: 2017-06-12
Packaged: 2018-11-13 05:00:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,914
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11177580
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/psychicrebelart/pseuds/psychicrebelart
Summary: Being admitted into Beacon Academy is the dream for many young aspiring Hunters and Huntresses. What they don't realize, however, is the difficulties and potential disaster that awaits them after getting in. When they end up causing a bit of a disturbance the first day, Shad, Lav, Irada, and Turq became an unlikely team; something they are none too happy about. Somehow becoming acquainted with the elusive Winter Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, may be enough to turn the whole situation around. Now if only they could stop arguing for like two (2) seconds so they could see what an amazing opportunity was available to them.





	SLIT Isn't Even A Color

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic, and honestly, it's mostly just for personal fulfillment. There may be some grammar/spelling mistakes, but hopefully nothing unbearable. I love rwby a LOT (despite the fickle writing and queerbaiting, but that's besides the point) and thus was inspired to devote my entire life to it, and this is a byproduct of that.  
> So enjoy!

****

Chapter 1: Welcome to Beacon

     After the two hour long flight over the serene, peaceful, Vale landscape from his rural hometown on the outer banks of the kingdom, to the prestigious academy for future Hunters and Huntresses, nearly getting laserbeamed in the face was not exactly the ‘welcome’ Shad had expected. The ‘welcoming committee’ was just as peculiar; the raw mass of energy that had come close to singeing off his eyebrows seemed to have came from a girl armed with customized gauntlets, though it became clear that he was not her intended target. Rather, it appeared she was involved in a fight with another guy, who was, at the moment, zipping around on his weaponized jetpack, and another girl who seemed to be his acquaintance. Of course Shad recognized all of this and took the most logical and appropriate course of action.

     He drew his swords and marched over there to give the little she-demon a piece of his mind.

     “Hey, watch where you aim your lasers! Isn’t it a little bold to go picking fights on the campus of a school for elite fighters?” he raved as he approached the girl. Her body stiffened when he addressed her. She turned to look at him, her cold gray eyes looking like a sky ready to storm. 

     “It would be bold. If I wasn’t one of the elite fighters attending this school,” she responded curtly. “Besides, I didn’t pick a fight, pretty boy over here did.” She nodded over to the blue haired teen strapped to the jetpack, a smirk played on his features.

     “Pretty boy, huh? I knew you had a thing for me. Though really, I think a more fitting term would be ruggedly handsome.” That comment caused her attention to snap back to him with a gritting of teeth.

     “The only ‘rugged’ thing here is the concrete I’m going to smash your face into,” she barked as a pulse from her palm hit him square in the chest, sending him back a few feet. Disoriented, he dropped in altitude and crashed into a fountain in the center of the courtyard, cracking the pillar of stone the water shot up through before falling into the basin of water at the bottom. With an astonished and somewhat disgusted glare, he looked down at his soaking wet figure, picking at his shirt which clung to his body. His face flushed with rage and he looked up at his attacker as the spritely lilac haired girl came to his assistance.

     She began pulling him out of the pool of water in the base of the fountain. “Turq are you alri-”

     “I DON’T CARE HOW CUTE YOU ARE, YOU ARE SO DEAD!” Turq leapt to his feet and charged at the girl who had sent him hurtling towards the water feature, discarding reason and strategy and instead settling on a display of brute force. As he got closer and readied his fist to throw a punch, she smirked, her own fists prime for an attack. Right as they were about to collide, a metal blade swept between them.

     “Hey, I was talking to you! Ignoring people is rude, you know.” Shad angled his sword so that the tip was now under the girl’s chin.

     “Oh, but I’m sure holding a blade to someone’s neck is totally acceptable. I apologize if my manners are a little rough, I tend to be a little distant when I’m in the middle of a fight.” His blade dug a little deeper against her skin and she recoiled away from the cold bite of the steel. She clenched her jaw and swallowed, holding her glare.

     “Well let me give you a little update on proper etiquette: you see, when you nearly fry an innocent bystander-”

     “An ‘innocent bystander’ who is currently holding a sword to my throat,” she scoffed.

     “-an apology is generally the way to go,” he finished.

     “I’m sorry you don’t know how to stay the hell out of other people’s business. There, happy?” she replied bitterly. His offended expression gave her the answer that he was not, in fact, happy with that response.

     “Why you little-”

     “Hey buddy, we were kind of in the middle of something, you mind?” A wet hand shoved Shad’s shoulder. He lowered his sword and wheeled around to face the source of the push.

     “Look my problem isn’t with you, don’t touch me again or you are going to start something you don’t want.” He was admittedly severely unimpressed with the sopping teen standing in front of him, it was hard to take him seriously when he looked like a distressed kitten that was dunked in a sink.

     It turned out the kitten had claws; he decked Shad straight in the face. The unexpected hit caused him to stumble back. His hand shot up to his face as he rolled his jaw, then dropped down and clenched into a fist. “You asked for it.”

     Shad reached over his shoulder and smoothly slid his second sword out of its sheath, each of his hands now equipped with four feet of sharpened steel. He twisted the hilts in his hand, spinning around the swords as he loosened his wrists. With one synchronized swipe, he brought the weapons down on Turq.

     Instead of the solid contact against flesh, his swords were met with the clash of more metal. Behind the crossed blades that had caught the swift attack, a head of purple hair bobbed up.

     “You really need to work on your friend making skills Turq, this is kinda embarrassing.” She pushed her arms outwards, the blades on her forearms forcing Shad’s swords away.

     “Lav I had that!” Turq got up to his feet after being pushed to the ground by Lav when she intercepted the hit.

     “Hey you have to let me have some fun too, stop hogging all the attention of our potential friends.” He gave an exasperated sigh.

     “I don’t think he has much potential to become my friend. Or really just potential in general,” the girl with the gauntlets said flatly. Turq grabbed the collar of her flannel overshirt and pulled her close to him.

     “Well all the potential you had to be the girlfriend of the most handsome guy at school just got thrown down the drain, so it’s not looking like you have much potential left either missy,” he spat, quite literally. The girl flinched as some spittle landed on her cheek.

     “Okay, neither of you have potential. I’m glad we got that rather obvious piece of news cleared up. Now I’d really like to deal with her now, so could you maybe cool off and go for another swim or something so I can give her a piece of my mind?” Shad asked impatiently. The wet mop of blue hair belonging to the boy he was addressing whipped around as his focus snapped on Shad, his fists still grasping the cloth of the girl’s collar.

     “You’d have to have a mind to give me a piece of for that to work,” the girl said with a snarky grin, her glance teasing Shad. His nostrils flared as he huffed in agitation, then he swung his fist towards her face. Luckily for her, not so much for him, she ducked down in time for it to miss her and instead hit Lav, who was standing to the side of her and Turq. Lav groaned as she reached up to cover her nose with her hand, no real damage done to it thanks to her aura, though it still stung. Turq’s eyes snapped to her, full of concern, before being replaced with an expression of anger as his attention returned to Shad.

     “You just hit my best friend in the face! She wasn’t even doing anything, she was innocent, what the hell is wrong with you?” he exclaimed angrily.

     “I was innocent too! I wasn’t involved in this little, whatever this is, until she nearly shot a laser right at my head!” Shad shouted adamantly.

     “Oh, so it’s my fault? I get shamelessly hit on by some bozo who volunteered to ‘show me a few moves’ and when I counter with my own and defend myself I’m the villain? Okay, I see how it is.” She thrust her hands against Turq’s chest and freed herself from his clutch.

     “Guys I’m sure we are all just blowing this out of proportion. I mean all good friends fight, and by the looks of it, we must be REALLY good friends if that’s the case,” Lav piped up, though to no avail. The other three were bickering tirelessly, their shouts growing louder and more aggressive with each passing second. It escalated to the point where all of them had drawn their weapons and were about to declare war on each other when the swinging of swords and fists was suddenly disrupted by a wave of a riding crop and the clearing of a throat.

     “You children mind explaining what’s going on here?” With a flick of her wrist all those involved in the fight turned to face the woman, her piercing tired green eyes moving from one person to the other.

     “Could you maybe drop the magic act and let us move freely first?” Shad asked as he nodded towards the riding crop in her hand which was holding them at her will. “I don’t think the headmaster will approve of you controlling students.” The gray eyed girl squirmed next to him as she craned her neck to glare at him.

     “You do realize you are talking to the second in charge of this school? That’s Glynda Goodwitch, you idiot,” she hissed. Shad’s eyes widened in recognition.

     “Oh.”

     “Oh indeed. So you say you are students here? I don’t think that is going to hold true soon. Ozpin is going to be hearing about you lot.” She narrowed her eyes. Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of coffee being sipped.

     “What will I be hearing about?” the headmaster asked calmly as he lowered his mug. Glynda closed her eyes and sighed sharply before turning to address him.

     “These children were causing a ruckus in the center of the courtyard, they drew their weapons on one another and subsequently caused some damage to the campus as well.” She gestured to the fountain, which was now sputtering out at an odd angle, the water landing everywhere except the base that was meant to catch it. “All of this happening within an hour of arriving at this academy. This kind of behavior is intolerable, we can’t allow them to stay, we must make an example out of them-”

     “I agree. We will make an example of them. An example of how adaptable and dynamic a team is.”

     “I’m sorry, I’m afraid I don’t understand?” Glynda’s tone had an edge, indicating she had an idea of what he could be implying, but not an idea she liked.

     “From this day forth, these four shall attend this school. As a team.” The corners of his kind eyes crinkled as he smiled softly.

     “What?!” they all exclaimed unanimously.

     “Ozpin, we need to talk about this-” Glynda began, the patience in her voice strained.

     “Have some faith in me.” He gently rested his hand on her shoulder and met her eyes with his own. There was a moment of hesitation as they stayed like this for a second, a silent conversation being had with practiced subtle looks and expressions, until Glynda straightened and huffed. His hand fell from her shoulder as she turned to leave.

     The four teens before them still looked shocked and disturbed by the declaration made by the quiet grey haired man standing before them. Well, three, Lav was quite content with the arrangement. The girl with the gauntlets, however, looked as though she was on the brink of snapping. Her startled gray eyes and the stray strands of dirty blond hair that escaped her short ponytail and whipped about her face made for an expression that looked like it belonged in an asylum. As soon as she regained her composure she closed her jaw that had been hanging agape and closed her eyes as she shook her head for a moment. Then she looked at Ozpin with determination to address how obscene the notion he just presented was.

     “Sir, with all do respect, I feel that maybe your judgement should be...reconsidered. This,” she gestured between herself and the three others, “is not what a functional team looks like. Headmaster Ozpin, if you would please just-”

     “Miss Irada Bustian, I presume?” he noted calmly.

     “I, uh, yeah-yes sir, that is me. But how did you know tha-”

     “Well Irada,” he continued, brushing over the question he was just asked, “I think you will find that the appearance of functionality will change. At least, for your sake I hope that is so,” he said in a soft tone, though with a hint of an edge.

     Irada looked as though she wanted to protest, but closed her mouth and nodded solemnly. “Yes Professor Ozpin.”

     He gave a gentle smile. “I will see all of you in the opening ceremony then. I look forward to seeing how you all progress. And welcome to Beacon.” He gave a small nod before leaving their presence.

     “I CAN’T BELIEVE THIS! YOU HAVE TOTALLY RUINED THE NEXT FOUR YEARS OF MY LIFE IN THE SPAN OF MINUTES!” Shad bellowed at Irada as soon as the headmaster was out of earshot.

     “Oh yeah, because I totally wanted this to happen. And I suppose I’m also responsible for making you draw a sword on each and every one of us, I forgot to keep my mind controlling powers in check, my bad,” she said dryly, dripping with sarcasm.

     “UGH! Whatever, I’m leaving. I hope all of you mysteriously disappear so I might get saddled with at least a slightly decent team,” he steamed before storming off.

     “Turq, where are you going?” Lav asked as he also began walking away.

     “I need to change,” he mumbled as she jogged up to him. Irada, now alone, held her face for a second then dragged her hands down as though she could rub the memory off of her skin and let out a tired sigh.  _ This sure is turning out to be a great first day. _

     Shad made his way over to the ceremony hall that was bustling with teenagers of varying appearances and backgrounds. The high ceilings amplified the general chatter around the room to deafening volumes, making it impossible to talk to anyone who wasn’t two inches away. Perhaps that was why it took so long for Shad to notice someone was shouting his name. He turned on his heel to find the source of the yelling and smiled when he found it to be from a familiar face. He held his hand out and the other guy who was approaching took it and pulled him into a hug, giving him two quick pats before backing up and facing Shad.

     “How have you been, North?” Shad asked him with a smile.

     “Great man, you?” he responded pleasantly.

     “I’ve been good,” he said vaguely. “Can you believe we got into Beacon? I mean look at this place!” He gestured around the room.

     “I know, it still doesn’t seem real,” he said in disbelief and awe. “I’m really excited though.”

     Shad laughed, understanding the way his friend felt. “Hey,” a smirk pulled at the corner of his mouth as his tone turned competitive, “are your abs still as hard as they used to be? Or have you let yourself go a little?”

     “No way man, I’m still rock solid. Punch ‘em.” North puffed out his chest and assumed an open stance. Shad smiled before quickly jabbing him in the gut. He came to regret that decision as his fist made contact with the dense muscles. He winced and retracted his hand, flexing it and shaking it to ease the pain.

     “Dude, that is ridiculous. I’ve hit walls softer than your abs.”

     “Thanks,” North laughed. “Man I hope we are on the same team.”

     Shad reached up and rubbed the back of his neck and looked down at the floor before making eye contact with North. “Yeah, about that…”

     “What is it? Do you not want to be on a team with me or something?” he asked confused, apparently a little hurt.

     “No that’s not it at all, I wish we could be on a team together. It’s just, I kinda already got assigned to a team,” he admitted.

     “What do you mean you already have a team? How? We haven’t even had the opening ceremony yet, there is no way they made you a team already,” he responded even more confused now.

     “Well it wasn’t really intentional. As soon as I walked off of the airship I nearly got hit in the head by a stray energy blast, so I got a little irritated and went to confront the girl who shot it and kinda got in a fight.”

     “Typical Shad,” North laughed as he crossed his arms across his chest. Shad rolled his eyes and huffed out a laugh.

     “The whole thing started because this one girl was fighting this dude and this other girl who was his friend or something. So I went up there, some words were said, and we were about to tear each other apart but one of the professors showed up and stopped us. And she was going to have us expelled, but then the headmaster showed up and made us a team and then just left with no explanation,” he explained with distaste.

     “So who were these people you were fighting who are now your teammates?” North questioned.

     “Well you’ve got snobby gauntlet girl,”

     “Excuse me?” Irada said overhearing him as she was pushed over in their general direction by the crowd.

     “The airhead,” he continued.

     “Oh hey, I think he’s talking about me,” Lav said to Turq as they made their way over as well.

     “And of course, the high maintenance pretty boy,” Shad concluded as he gestured to the teal haired teen who had now joined their cluster.

     “Perhaps high maintenance compared to you, you could use a little maintenance buddy,” Turq said as he gave him a quick once over, an unimpressed expression on his face. North took in the band of misfits he was just introduced to and cracked a smile. He chuckled as he returned his attention to Shad.

     “Good luck.” He put his hand on his shoulder in mock reassurance for a second before laughing and taking it off.

     “Thanks, I’ll need it.” He sighed.

     As the rest of them dissolved into conversation, Irada began looking around the room to see if perhaps she knew anyone who could help her escape from the group she found herself in. As she scanned the room, her eyes settled on a face she recognized. Now, of course, she had never spoken to this person, and they would most certainly have no idea who she was, but she knew plenty about this individual. Then again, the heiress’s name was quite a popular one. Winter Schnee, first in line to inherit the Schnee Dust Company, arguably the largest and most profitable dust distributer in all the kingdoms. She was said to be intelligent, an excellent strategist, as well as skilled with a sword. Her beauty was also widely spoken of, and as Irada now saw, rightfully so.

     “What ‘cha looking at?” Shad interrupted her thoughts as he caught her staring.

     “What? N-nothing!” blush flashed on her cheeks as she tripped over her words. Her eyes fluttered back to Winter for just a moment before she looked back at Shad.

     Shad looked in the direction of Irada’s glance. After a second, his expression shifted from concentration to revelation. “Oh, were you looking at her? Isn’t that the chick who is going to inherit the Schnee Dust Company? Winter, right? Yeah, she is crazy skilled at fighting, or so I hear. It’s no wonder why she would hold your attention.” Irada gave him a nod, then let out a sigh of relief as the sound of a microphone being tapped echoed throughout the room.

     Ozpin cleared his throat, and then his gentle voice filled the room. “I know many of you have come a long way to attend this academy, and I would like to thoroughly commend you on your efforts thus far. It is not an easy feat to gain admittance to this school, though I assure you, that does not mean things will get easier from here.” He rambles on with his welcome speech, his voice like the soft rumble of a stream. “While it may seem a bit unorthodox, we have already made arrangements for teams. Each of your applications were enough to thoroughly assess who would work best with another, so we ignored the usual protocol.”

     “I hear the usual protocol is being hurled into a forest and retrieving some miscellaneous item before you can be mauled by grimm. I’m disappointed we will be deprived of that experience,” Irada muttered. “I would have loved if some people here got mauled.”

     “The feeling is mutual,” Shad responded in an equally sour tone.

     Ozpin had begun listing off students and which teams they would form. Time passed as he continued in this manner for no less than an hour. “Team WNTR,” he began, Irada’s attention won over from the haze she had just been in at the mention of the girl she had just been stealing glances at, “will consist of Winter Schnee, North Vertigo, Taiga Benji, and Rae Urs.”

     Irada drew in a quick inhale of breath. “No way. My best friend is on the same team as Winter Schnee.”

     Shad looked equally amazed. “So is mine. We should form a club.”

     “And lastly,” Ozpin’s lulling voice fell upon their ears once again, “team SLIT shall be made up of Shad O’ Flame, Lav Ember, Irada Bustian, and Turq Beryl. And with that, we have concluded our introduction and initiation. You will now report to the lobby where Professor Glynda is waiting. She will issue you your Scrolls and room key. You may be dismissed, and welcome to Beacon.”

     All of the students hurriedly shuffled out of the crowded ceremony hall and toward the lobby, which was soon way beyond capacity. By the time team SLIT reached the table with all of the room keys, Glynda looked as though she was ready to stab someone; although that wasn’t exactly an uncommon expression for her. 

     Shad approached the table and cleared his throat to announce his presence to the woman cooped up behind the stacks of papers and keys. When Professor Glynda’s focus still did not break from the paper before her, Shad persisted. “We are team SLI-”

     “I know who you are,” she suddenly interrupted, her cold eyes snapping up to meet Shad’s with a harsh glare. “You four are the ones who started a fight and vandalized school property. I don’t often forget delinquents.” She handed Shad a set of keys and all of the team members’ Scrolls, then returned her attention to the paper she had previously been looking at. “If I were you I wouldn’t get too comfortable. In fact, I’d say you probably don’t even need to unpack. Hope you enjoy your visit.”

     Shad grit his teeth at the professor’s snide remarks. “Here,” Shad said gruffly, not so gently handing the rest of his teammates their Scrolls and keys to the room. Turq almost called out his team leader’s pissy behavior, but was quickly distracted by the handheld electronic shoved his way. The whole way to their room, the sound of his incessant tapping on the screen was the only thing that filled up the silence.

     “Well this is it. Home sweet home.” Shad inserted the key and opened the door to their dorm, all the roommates crowding round in the doorway to catch a glimpse of where they would be living for the next four years. The room was...severely underwhelming. Four white walls, four plain beds, a basic desk and a simple chair.

     “This place needs some serious TLC,” Turq said as he traced his finger on the desk that was coated with a film of dust, then rubbed the dirt between his finger and thumb.

     “I don’t know, I think it has potential,” Lav offered, ever the optimist.

     “Where are you going?” Shad questioned Irada, who was making her way back to the door. 

     She waved her hand dismissively, “I’m just going to go find a friend of mine, it shouldn’t matter to you.” Shad gave her an irritated glance. “Oh don’t get your panties in a twist, I’ll come back and help with the room later.” She slipped out of the room before he could say any more to her and she closed the door. She sighed, then turned to walk down the hallway. She didn’t get very far, however, because when she turned she bumped into someone.

     “Oh wow, I’m sorry about that,” she took a step back and looked up at the person she just ran into, “I didn’t see...you.” Of all the people to run into in the hallway, it had to be Winter Schnee. Irada couldn’t decide whether she had the best or the worst luck.

     “Don’t worry about it,” Winter gave a forgiving smile, though Irada could see it seemed forced and formal, as though she was only responding this way because it was the way she was trained to react.

     Worst. Definitely the worst luck, Irada decided.

     “Irada?” A bear faunus peeked out from behind Winter.

     “Rae, I was just about to go look for you! What’s your room number?”

     Rae stuck her thumb towards the door right across the hall from team SLIT’s room, “It’s this one right here.” Irada blinked in surprise.

     “No way. Really?”

     “Mm hmm. Where’s your room?” Rae’s eyes followed Irada’s gesture back to the door behind her. A huge smile spread across Rae’s face and her eyes sparkled. “This is great! This place is so huge, I thought there was no way we would end up close by each other.”

     “I know. I can’t believe it.” Irada’s glance drifted over to Winter, who was opening up the door to her team’s room. Winter Schnee was going to be staying right across the hall for the next four years, and the first thing Irada did was clumsily back into her. If anything could be learned from today’s events, it was that Irada had a way with first introductions.

     “What’s going on out here?” Shad entered the hallway, curious as to why so much noise was coming from right outside the door.

     “Hey bro! Guess who you have for neighbors!” North called out when he heard Shad’s voice.

     “Wait, you are moving in across the hall? Sweet!”

     “Ha ha. Yeah. Sweet,” Irada muttered to herself. “Radical, awesome, nice.”

     “Hey are you stressed out or something?” Rae inquired, concerned.

     “Huh? Oh, no. Why do you think that?” she responded, somewhat dazed.

     “You are doing that thing where you mutter really positive things under your breath repeatedly but in a really tired, stress-y way. You know, the thing you do. When you’re stressed.” Rae raised an eyebrow, digging for an honest answer. Instead Irada just waved it off.

     “It’s nothing, promise.” She gave Rae a small smile that she hoped would be reassuring. Rae was hesitant, but after a moment she decided it wasn’t worth pursuing and returned the smile before making her way into her room. 

     “So you are the leader of this ‘team slit’?” Winter had been eyeballing Shad from across the hallway for a while and now spoke to the subject of her analysis.

     “Uh, yeah, that would be me.” Shad had not expected to gain the attention of the well known heiress to the biggest dust company in Remnant, but then again, a lot of unexpected things had happened that day.

     The corner of her lips curled into a smirk. “Well then, I look forward to seeing you in action. Don’t disappoint.” She turned on her heel and gave him a small wave over her shoulder as she slipped into her room.

     “Oh ho ho ho, you shoot high, don’t you Shad?” North nudged his pal with his elbow.

     “What are you talking about?”

     “Winter Schnee dude? The famous, rich, talented babe of Atlas. And somehow you captured her interest? I see what game you are playing.” Shad looked confused for a moment, but clarity struck him like a lightning bolt.

     “No. You are reading this all wrong, I didn’t-”

     “Save your breath, I don’t want to hear it. You’ve always had a knack for seducing the ladies. I don’t know how you do it, but you always manage to win the hearts of the most popular girls. I mean, I’m not bad myself, but you do it effortlessly.”

     “That’s because it is effortless. I’m not trying. At all.”

     “See?! That’s so unfair! Well I’ll catch you later man, I need to unpack.” North gave Shad a pat on the back and pushed past the door into his room. Shad huffed out a sigh and returned to his own room. He loved his friend, but he sometimes liked to interpret things in a way that was different from the reality of the situation. The last thing he needed after being assigned to a group of delinquents was to be ostracized from the rest of the students because of a rumor his friend spread about him trying to woo the jewel of Beacon. Although, being associated with Winter wouldn’t be a bad thing… Perhaps it would be a good idea to befriend her, he could possibly salvage a sliver of his reputation.

     With that thought brewing in his mind, Shad returned to his room and began unpacking, as the rest of his new team was doing. Well, most of his team. Irada was sitting on the edge of her just-claimed bed with a spaced out expression on her face, her feet resting on a single, dark green duffle bag she brought with her.

     “Where is the rest of your stuff?” Turq inquired, snapping Irada out of her haze.

     “Hmm? What do you mean?”

     “I mean all you have with you is that one bag. Where are your other bags? There has got to be more than that, since we are going to be living here for four years,” he reasoned. Irada furrowed her brows a bit, considering what he said, then her expression returned to a neutral state.

     “Nope, this is it,” she confirmed, deadpan. Turq’s jaw dropped in astonishment.

     “What? There can hardly be enough for a week in there, much less four YEARS!” Irada rolled her eyes at his outburst, frustration clear on her face. “Honestly, coming from ATLAS I expected-”

     “Well not everyone in Atlas lives the same, you know,” she snapped before he could finish his sentence. “This is all I brought with me, ok? Just let me live, god.” She stood up and turned her back to him, bending down to pick up her duffel bag and set it on her bed. Turq raised up his hands defensively before backing away and returning to unpacking his own, numerous bags. 

     After unpacking the majority of his stuff, Shad slipped out of the room and across the hall to catch up with his long time friend and now dorm neighbor. Upon entering the hallway, he noticed three individuals exiting the room he was heading toward.

     “Where are you guys going?” Shad asked North’s teammates, curious.

     “We are just going to have a walk around, explore the campus a bit,” Winter explained as she shut the door behind her. “And what are you doing, might I ask?”

     “I was just going to pop in and say hi to North.” He scanned the team before him and noticed that the person in question was not among them. “Speaking of, where’s North?”

     “Oh, he said that he’d prefer to remain in the room and rest a bit. Something about jet lag or something of that sort, which quite frankly I don’t understand saying as he had the shortest flight out of all of us,” noted, her smooth voice displaying a hint of amusement. “Feel free to let yourself in,” she suggested then waved him goodbye as she and the other two team members left.

     Shad did as Winter said and let himself in. When he entered the room, the surprisingly familiar sight of his best friend waltzing around in nothing but compression shorts welcomed him.

     “Dude, put some clothes on!” he exclaimed in a mock chiding tone as he walked in and pushed the door closed behind him. North wheeled around so he’s facing Shad and smirked.

     “Hey, I’m wearing compression shorts! That’s an article of clothing, isn’t it?” Shad shook his head and laughed at the shoddy logic.

     “Yes, but barely. You’re not at home anymore, you can’t go around strutting in no clothes.”

     “I know, and you know that I’ve never been a big fan of clothes, so barely clothing will have to do,” North countered. 

     Shad chuckled and stepped closer so he could place a hand on North’s shoulder. “Man, I’ve missed you.”

     “Hey Shad, do you wanna-” Irada’s voice halted in the doorway after taking in the scene before her. “Um, am I interrupting something?” Whatever she was originally going to ask him was gone from her mind. Behind her, Lav and Turq’s heads popped into view with curious glances shifting between Shad and North. Shad, catching those glances, shifted his attention to his mostly naked best friend and realized the awkwardness of the situation.

     “Dude, clothes, remember?” he quietly hissed into North’s ear and gave him a little shove.

     “Oh, yeah,” North replied much louder, and he suddenly remembered to be embarrassed of his current state. With blush burning at his cheeks, he dashed off to the back of the room and pulled on some clothes.

     Shad immediately turned his attention back to the onlookers, speculation clear on their faces. “It’s not what you think!” he desperately claimed, which, he admitted, did not sound very convincing.

     Irada opened her mouth to speak, and in that moment Shad wished he had pleaded the fifth to avoid this inquisition, but he was thankfully saved when Lav cut her short.

     “It looks like you were just having a talk and your friend here doesn’t like to wear clothes,” Lav assessed. Shad tried to blink away his surprise at the accuracy of the analysis.

     “Uh, yeah actually? You’re right,” he responded, astonished.

     “She totally gets me,” North said with an appreciative grin, his confidence returned as he rejoined the group fully clothed.

     Irada, however, was not so easily convinced. “Really?” she questioned, the skepticism obvious in her voice.

     “Yeah, ever since we’ve known each other, if it is just the two of us at each other’s house, he’d usually only have on his compression shorts,” Shad confirmed. “But I kept my clothes on,” he quickly amended upon catching the curious quirked brow of his teammate.

     “Interesting friendship,” Irada concluded in a somewhat weirded out tone.

     “I still have better features than him,” Turq interjected with his jaw jut up with an air of indignation and arrogance. Shad shot him a disapproving glance and Irada scoffed.

     “Only in your dreams,” she cooed venomously. This guy’s ego has already worn her so thin, the only way she can keep herself sane is if she knocks it down a notch.

     “Can we go eat now?” Lav offered in an attempt to keep peace (and to satisfy the rumbling in her stomach).

     “Oh, right. We came over to see if you wanted to come eat with us. Only because of Lav’s insistence though. I really don’t care,” Irada said, her bitter indifference clear in her voice. “So, you two coming?”

     Shad and North nod, Shad a bit more reluctantly, but they both go all the same. The walk to the cafeteria was...awkward, to say the least. Everyone just talked to their friends and then mutually ignored everyone else. Which translated to Lav and Turq carrying out their own conversation, Shad and North following suit, and Irada walking in the lead alone and unbothered, as she liked it. Upon arriving in the bustling, clamoring room riddled with teens gorging themselves with sub-par, room temperature meals, Irada found a familiar looking bear faunus beckoning for her to join her. Of course, joining her at her table were her teammates (sans North), meaning that Winter was there. Irada didn’t know how things would turn out after that awkward encounter in the hallway earlier. Whatever. It didn’t matter. She could just talk to Rae and pretend no one else was there.

     Irada, as well as the rest of the pack that made their way to the cafeteria, much to Irada’s dismay but not surprise, headed over to the table. It made sense why they would sit there as well, saying as the entirety of North’s team was there, and Shad would of course sit with his best friend. Turq and Lav just kinda tagged along with whatever the rest of the team was doing; it’s not like they knew anyone else there anyway.

     “You holding up alright? It’s only day one and you already look like you might have an aneurysm,” Rae noted with a laugh. Irada simply huffed, then caught a glance of Winter across the table, and her irritation transformed to uneasy tension.

     “I’m surviving, at least,” she mumbled in response.

     Dinner wasn’t exactly anything to write home about, it ended up pretty much like the walk to the cafeteria: everyone just kept to their own and didn’t speak to the people they weren’t familiar with unless they were asking someone to pass the ketchup or pointing out a fleck of food on their face. There were a few moments where Shad noticed Winter staring at him, her eyes focused as if she were analyzing him in an attempt to unlock his secrets. In fact, Winter seemed to be doing that to all of his teammates, but none of them realized it. Turq and Lav were too immersed in conversation to notice anything else, and Irada seemed to be avoiding her gaze for some reason. Still, Shad noticed, and it made him wonder just what Winter’s intentions were. She was a serious competitor, he could tell that. But he himself was no pushover, and he wasn’t about to let her get any sort of advantage on him, so he made a note to be extra observant when in her company.

     If dinner was relatively peaceful, than that peace was immediately thrown to the wind as soon as the got back to their room.

     “Hey,” Turq called after Irada in a charming, sultry voice. The tone filled Irada with dread.

     “What?” was her curt reply. She had a feeling she knew his intentions, and they were none that she favored.

     “Silly question, I mean, I already know your answer but, you think I’m hot, right? I can tell by the way you look at me.” He chuckles in the arrogant, flirtatious way only egomaniacs can.

    Irada releases an exasperated sigh before turning on her heel to face the smug teen who was shamelessly hitting on her. “Actually, no. And you may find this hard to believe, but I actually think you are pushy, annoying and relentless. Like a pimple,” she barked, her voice dripping with venom. 

    Turq grit his teeth. “Are you trying to start a fight?”

     “You know what? Sure. I’d love to knock the teeth out of your smug grin,” she said with the indication of a smirk and a glint in her eyes.

     “You’re on.” Turq deployed his jetpack and got into a ready fighting stance. Irada tilted her head to match the angle of her smirk, and proceeded to put her fists up and got into a like stance.

     Before either one could initiate an attack, however, two guns were leveled at them. At the end of them, Shad cleared his throat and spoke in authoritative voice.

     “Calm down. We are all stressed and tired from what happened today. Let’s put the weapons down and get some rest.”

     “Yeah, well pointing a gun at me really doesn’t make me any more come,” Irada bit back sharply. 

     “Fine!” Turq resigned, disengaging his jetpack. Neither he nor Irada looked relaxed, though, both of them still tense and ready to deliver a swing should the opportunity arise.

     “Come on guys, he has a point. We are stressed and we really need to relax and get rest. We have class tomorrow and we have to at the very least function,” Lav reasoned.

     “Fine. But I’m sleeping with my gauntlets on,” Irada muttered in compliance.

     “Whatever,” Shad said with an eyeroll, though relieved that his teammates weren’t at eachother’s throats for the time being.

     After changing into pajamas, they all slipped under their covers, very much on edge. True to her word, Irada slept with her gauntlets on, and Shad adopted a similar plan with one of his guns tucked under his pillow. Regardless of the tension, they were still undeniable exhausted. Fatigue eventually won them all over, and they drifted off to sleep, ending the most eventful and infuriating day they had experienced to date.

**Author's Note:**

> That's it, the first chapter!  
> North and Shad have an interesting friendship...straight guys, am I right?  
> I'm planning on writing a lot more for this, so if you liked it, you're in luck.  
> I hope you enjoyed it, or at least it wasn't entirely unbearable, lol. If you did enjoy it, feel free to leave a comment! It would be much appreciated!


End file.
